Even if you’re
not yet au fait with the ins and outs of what GDPR is and how it will affect
your business, I’m assuming you’ve heard of it – from the abundance of news and
online articles to the increased activity in your IT and customer management
teams.
GDPR is the
General Data Protection Regulation and it’s a legal requirement from 25 May
2018, replacing the existing Data Protection Directive at European Union level
and the UK Data Protection Act 1998. It
applies to anyone handling data belonging to EU residents, which means it
almost definitely will apply to your organisation.
Why is it being
introduced? Partly because of globalisation and the increasing number of
businesses operating multinationally, and partly because of the growing digital
economy we all operate in. The introduction of GDPR means data protection laws
will now assume a level of international consistency and they
also class digital footprints - IP addresses, cookies, MAC addresses – as personal data for
the first time.
Like all things, the digital revolution and the increased level of access to
personal data has both pros and cons. For organisations, it means we can
understand our customers better and provide communications that are better
targeted and more relevant and valuable to our audiences. As a result,
customers benefit from personalised content, tailored offerings, less spam and
increased, more convenient, transaction speeds.
But the
downside of so much personal data being stored online is that it can be at risk
of misuse.
Following a
number of high profile data breaches and global cyber attacks this year alone,
it is clear that new levels of data protection and security are a requirement
of today’s digitally connected world and why we in the business travel industry,
as much as any other industry, need to be at the top of our game.
As an
organisation that’s responsible for managing data on behalf of thousands of
travellers, it’s crucial that we at CTM can reassure our travellers and our
clients that this information is being collected, stored and used both
responsibly and with each person’s consent. And that’s what GDPR will do:
introduce an accountability-based framework for handling the way personal
information is acquired, used and shared.
For businesses who fail to comply with GDPR, a breach of data use could result in fines of up to €20 million (about £18 million) or 4 per cent of annual turnover, whichever is greater.
25 May 2018 isn’t
so far away - if you haven’t already started planning for GDPR, I would start
now.
This post was written by Karen Janssen, Chief Information Officer at Corporate Travel Management (CTM), a top ten global TMC exhibiting at the Business Travel Show in February. To register for a free visitor pass and meet up with CTM (stand B620) to discuss GDPR and all of your other travel management needs.
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